Aerodynamic drag reducers such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,972,556 and 4,245,862 are mounted on the roof of a truck to deflect air upwardly over the top and around the sides of a trailer connected to the truck. The air deflectors of Mason and Buckley are removably mounted on the truck roof by means of brackets. Although both the Mason and Buckley devices do reduce the drag of the trailer, the open rearward ends thereof create a serious problem should it be necessary to tow the truck, without the trailer, rearwardly if the truck should become disabled. As the truck is being towed rearwardly, the air enters the interior of the drag reducer and can pull the drag reducer from its mounting brackets or can pull the mounting brackets from the truck roof. One current method of reducing the amount of air entering the air deflectors is to strap or otherwise secure a sheet of plywood or the like across the rearward end of the drag reducer. However, the bluff shape of the sheet of plywood also imposes considerable forces on the drag reducer and its mounting brackets since a sheet of plywood not deflect the air around the drag reducer but simply prevents the air from entering the interior of the drag reducer.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a means for shielding a truck mounted aerodynamic drag reducer.
A further object of the invention is to provide a means for shielding a truck mounted aerodynamic drag reducer which may be quickly and easily removably mounted on the truck should it be necessary to tow the truck in a rearward manner.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a means for shielding a truck mounted aerodynamic drag reducer which may be telescoped and folded into a compact size for storage when not in use.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a means for shielding a truck mounted aerodynamic drag reducer which is economical of manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.